Moon Time just got a little easier for Indigenous girls in the North

Volunteers at the Moon Time Sisters shopping for menstrual products to give out to young Indigenous women in northern communities in the spring. Photo courtesy of Moon Time Sisters

Moon Time Sisters is helping to keep Indigenous girls in northern Saskatchewan in school by providing free menstrual products.

The non-profit organization received a $10,000 boost last year, when founder Nicole White was named a finalist in the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth campaign.

White started Moon Time Sisters in 2017 after reading about girls in northern Saskatchewan who were missing school because they didn’t have access to feminine hygiene products. White decided to take on the issue.

“We do a big collection drive in the springtime and we get all the products to the northern communities,” she said. “Our mission and mandate are to serve La Ronge and communities north of it.”

White chose Moon Time Sisters as a name because she wanted to honour girls’ sacred time.

“Unfortunately, menstruation has become shrouded in shame and spoken of in the shadows. Honouring our moon time is about recognizing young girls’ sacred power during our time,” she said. “I thought it was an apt name to recognize the sisterhood that has come together to tell young girls in the north that we honour them and we have their backs.”

“We have heard from some moms whose daughters received the menstrual products from us,” said White. “I [received] a great call one time from a mother who has three teen girls at home and she cried because she never had the opportunity to provide her girls with products where they used socks instead,” she said.

Moon Time Sisters works closely with schools in northern communities where staff identify what the students’ needs are for menstrual products.

“We always … listen to what the community says they need. We don’t question or judge. We are here to lift up and support and reduce a barrier to a young girl completing her education,” White said.

The organization receives donations of pads, tampons and even menstrual cups at collection points throughout the province to add to the big distribution, which occurs in the spring to coincide with International Women’s Day.

“Every year… we average between 80,00 to 90,000 products that are sent to northern communities. I imagine this year will be bigger because of the L’Oreal Women of Worth contribution,” said White.

Last year, White was one of 10 women from across Canada who received $10,000 to amplify the work of their organizations after she was nominated as one of the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth.